Men in Grief – West Midlands

Early last year, we were delighted to be awarded almost £63k from Severn Trent Community Fund to deliver a targeted ‘Men in Grief’ project in the West Midlands.

Grieving is not an easy process for anyone. If we are struggling to deal with our thoughts and feelings, these emotions can become overwhelming and very hard to understand. Sometimes in our society an expectation that men should not show their emotions can extend to people believing that men are not as emotionally impacted by grief as women. At Cruse we know that’s not true.

We are here to encourage men to seek out the help they need and support men and help to understand the complex and difficult feelings they are dealing with following a bereavement

In the West Midlands, thanks to significant funding from our friends at Severn Trent Community Fund, we have been able to support and help men who have experienced a bereavement and are finding the grieving process difficult. As part of this project, we have developed and delivered both targeted support and reached out to men across the West Midlands to encourage them to seek out help and to access Cruse information and support services.

“2 weeks ago I was going to end my life. I was hopeless and so alone. I’m still not in a good place but your service and support has given me steps to secure my future and I’m no longer in that dark place.”

Support we have delivered to men in the West Midlands

Cruse have been working with a range of community groups and organisations that work with and employ men who needed support following a bereavement. As part of our outreach we also promoted our services at a number of key events across the region.

In-person group meetings
A key part of what Cruse does is creating a safe space for bereaved people to talk about their grief. We held group meetings with men that reached out to Cruse for support and also in collaboration with local groups including Men’s Sheds Association, Lisi Aerospace, The Royal British Legion and the Sahil Project – a charity providing health and wellbeing support to South Asian men and women.

Grief Over Breakfast
We invited men to join the Cruse team for breakfast events at community venues including Anya Court in Rugby, a care home who were keen to support their community. We also networked with ‘Business over Breakfast’ clubs and invited men to discuss their grief before heading off to work.

Baton of Hope
Cruse joined with charities from across Birmingham and the Black Country in July 2023 to participate in the national Baton of Hope relay. This very visible symbol of the support available to men was well received, and Cruse provided support to visitors. It was a great opportunity for the city to see our Men in Grief merchandise. The West Midlands Mayor Andy Street was a particular fan.

Car Rallies
For the Petrol Heads, Cruse attended a number of events for fans of four wheels, to help men understand what support is available and to provide support and a space to talk about grief.

Memorial Events
Cruse knows that marking anniversaries and having a more formal opportunity to remember those who have died is very important. Cruse holds a number of events across the region to help commemorate those who have died and support those who are grieving, such as an event held in December 2023 at Bushbury Crematorium in Wolverhampton.

Promotion and Engagement
We want to reach men in different places and ensure they know where support is available. We’ve created and distributed two different designs of beer mats, which have been shared out in pubs and bars across the region. One asked men to provide feedback in a survey, which we received nearly 200 responses to. We were also invited to talk about the project and Cruse services on the Just Start Talking, a community radio show, on Black Country radio.

June 13, 2022 · Blog

Men, mental health and grief – a conversation

Three Cruse volunteers look at how grief affects men's mental health, and what can help.

Men and grief

Everyone’s grief is unique, but we sometimes find that men and women react differently when someone dies, and that men's health can be particularly affected.

“I know I need to do something and your events and meetings have given me the support to do that.”